Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Just an observation: it is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mind-set tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up. - Steve Maraboli

It isn’t the incompetent who destroy an organization. The incompetent never get in a position to destroy it. It is those who achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up. - F. M. Young

It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one. - George Harrison

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. - C. S. Lewis

It is the power of creative men to perceive the relations between thoughts, or things, or forms of expression that may seem utterly different, and to be able to combine them into some new forms – the power to connect the seemingly unconnected. - William Plomer

Tuesday, 29 November 2016

My latest eBook The Mystery of Life is now available on Amazon. It is free for 3 days. Please feel free to download a copy. However, I would appreciate your taking some time to write a review, if you think the book worthy of it. Cheers!

Feeling dazed and overwhelmed with life? Don’t know how to handle the difficulties that you face? Wondering about the meaning of life and your purpose for being here? Baffled by what life is all about? Rest assured that you are not the only one who feels this way.
‘The Mystery of Life’ is a compilation of quotes on life. You will definitely perceive life differently after going through this book. In the book are thoughts, opinions and views of sages, philosophers, mystics, religious leaders and people who have given life a good deal of thought.
Life isn’t fair, life isn’t perfect – but, it is still a beautiful life. Arm yourself with an open mind, a dose of common sense, a sense of humour, and your journey through life will be a pleasant one.

Introduction

If you think that life is one big mystery, you are not alone. And the only way to solve this mystery is to live through it. Pay attention to your surroundings, keep an open mind, have no expectations, and be ready to deal with what life throws at you.
Life is never smooth nor straightforward. There will always be ups and downs, tears and laughter. You do the best you can with what you have. Nobody will ask more of you than that. If you do your best, you will have no regrets, even if things do not quite end up the way you want them to.
Assembled in this book are thoughts and opinions of sages, philosophers, spiritual leaders, mystics, and people who had given life a great deal of thought. Most of these quotes teach us life-lessons not taught in classrooms. They may answer some of the questions you have on life as well as change your understanding and attitude towards life.
It helps if you are able to understand their meaning literally and metaphorically, and are also able to infer and draw parallels to situations and circumstances in life.
So, let us see what other people have to say about life. Their thoughts and opinions might give us a head start, and help to pave the way to an enriching and fulfilling life for us.

Thursday, 24 November 2016

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

The funny English language II:

● There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; either apple nor pine in pineapple.
● English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.
● Quicksand can work slowly.
● Boxing rings are square.
● A guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

The greatest of characters, no doubt, would be he, who, free of all trifling accidental helps, could see objects through one grand immutable medium, always at hand, and proof against illusion and time, reflecting every object in its true shape and colour through all the fluctuation of things. - Johann Caspar Lavater

One should act in consonance with the way of heaven and earth, which is enduring and eternal. The superior man perseveres long in his course, adapts to the times, but remains firm in his direction and correct in his goals. - I Ching

Our success at friendship, business, sports, love – indeed, at nearly every enterprise we attempt – is largely determined by our self-image. People who have a confidence in their personal worth seem to be magnets for success and happiness. - Alan Loy McGinnis

My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour… If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? - Charlotte Brontë

Monday, 21 November 2016

Men aren't really complicated ... They are very simple, literal creatures. They usually mean what they say. And we spend hours trying to analyze what they've said, when really it's obvious. - E. L James

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that “individuality” is the key to success. - Robert Orben

Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president. - Johnny Carson

I don't believe the kindliest of men ever learned about the death of his doctor without a feeling of smugness. - Richard Gordon

In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting fifty percent of the publicity. - Lauren Bacall

No human being believes that any other human being has a right to be in bed when he himself is up. - Robert Lynd

People have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn’t. - Christopher Paolini

Just my luck! When my ship came in, I was stuck at the airport! - Max Kauffmann

Thursday, 17 November 2016

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people. - Randy Pausch

Some people confuse acceptance with apathy, but there’s all the difference in the world. Apathy fails to distinguish what can and cannot be helped; acceptance makes the distinction. Apathy paralyzes the will-to-action; acceptance frees it by relieving it of impossible burdens. - Arthur Gordon

Rain makes me feel less alone. All rain is, is a cloud- falling apart, and pouring its shattered pieces down on top of you. It makes me feel good to know I’m not the only thing that falls apart. It makes me feel better to know other things in nature can shatter. - Lone Alaskan Gypsy

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity. - Christopher Morley

People never fail to amaze me. They face the unimaginable with a shot of grace and a rush of adrenaline; they steel their nerves; they summon their cool or anger or faith or whatever it takes to pull them through, and they go on to live another day. - Oprah Winfrey

A 24-year-old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted, “Dad, look! The trees are going behind!”
Dad smiled. A young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24-year -old’s childish behaviour with pity.
Suddenly he again exclaimed, “Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”
The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man, “Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?”
The old man smiled and said, “I did and we are just coming from the hospital. My son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.”

Moral of the story:

Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.

The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration. - Pearl S. Buck

The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die. - George R.R. Martin

The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. - Atisha

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible. - Albert Einstein

The common eye sees only the outside of things, and judges by that, but the seeing eye pierces through and reads the heart and the soul, finding there capacities which the outside didn’t indicate or promise, and which the other kind couldn’t detect. - Mark Twain

Sunday, 13 November 2016

In civilized life, where the happiness, and indeed almost the existence, of man depends so much upon the opinion of his fellow-men, he is constantly acting a studied part. The bold and peculiar traits of native character are refined away or softened down by the levelling influence of what is termed good-breeding, and he practises so many petty deceptions and affects so many generous sentiments for the purposes of popularity that it is difficult to distinguish his real from his artificial character. - Washington Irving

Life is kind of like a party. You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up really late. But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess. And most of the time, they aren’t even the ones who made the mess. These people are your true friends in life. They are the only ones who matter. - Unknown

Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential. They experience synergy only in small, peripheral ways in their lives. But creative experiences can be produced regularly, consistently, almost daily in people's lives. It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure. - Stephen Covey

Saturday, 12 November 2016

As we know, the year-end festivities will be upon us soon. Time to think of buying presents. If you are running out of ideas, I have a suggestion for you. Something interesting and different – a book of quotes!

There is no mystery, no crime and no sex in the books. Nevertheless, every book is a page turner. Quotes are educational, motivational, and inspirational. The paperbacks are very affordable and can be purchased at lulu.com. Click on the link to see the books.

It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you? - Isaac Asimov

For every positive change you make in your life, something else also changes for the better – it creates a chain reaction. - Leon Brown

The great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. - David McCullough Jr.

A positive attitude may not solve every problem but it makes solving any problem a more pleasant experience. - Grant Fairly

Not everyone is meant to be in your future. Some people are just passing through to teach you lessons in life. - Unknown

Don’t close the book when bad things happen in your life. Just turn the page and begin a new chapter. - Unknown

It is much better to do things you cannot explain than explain things you cannot do. - Nassim Taleb

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible, is music. - Aldous Huxley

No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. - John Keats

One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time. - John Wanamaker

People remain what they are even if their faces fall apart. - Bertolt Brecht

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it. - Wilfred Peterson

Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self. - B.R. Ambedkar

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used anonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us. - Jane Austen

To say that one waits a lifetime for his soulmate to come around is a paradox. People eventually get sick of waiting, take a chance on someone, and by the art of commitment become soulmates, which takes a lifetime to perfect. - Criss Jami

Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits. Sarah Ban Breathnach

Monday, 7 November 2016

If somebody says “I love you” to me, I feel as though I had a pistol pointed at my head. What can anybody reply under such conditions but that which the pistol holder requires? “I love you, too.” - Kurt Vonnegut

I love the marriage ceremony. I love the honeymoon phase. I just don't want to be married. I'm not marriage material, but I am a very good honeymooner. - Fern Michaels

How happy is it for us, that the admiration of others should depend so much more on their ignorance than our perfection! - Fulke Greville

Sunday, 6 November 2016

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. - Gautama Buddha

Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused. - Alan Cohen

If you love someone, when it's the most real, the most important thing in your life, it's not enough to coast. You need to dig in those footers, start building on that base. You want something to last, you put your back into it. - Nora Roberts

Most people know the sheer wonder that goes with falling in love, how not only does everything in heaven and earth become new, but the lover himself becomes new. It is literally like the sap rising in the tree, putting forth new green shoots of life. - Caryll Houselander

It is probably not love that makes the world go around, but rather those mutually supportive alliances through which partners recognize their dependence on each other for the achievement of shared and private goals. - Fred Allen

Thursday, 3 November 2016

Some doctor on television this morning said that the way to achieve Inner Peace is to finish all the things you have started.
So, I looked around my house to see things I'd started and hadn't finished and, before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of shhhardonay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of vocka, a pockage of Prunglies, tha mainder of bot Prozic and Valum scriptins, the res of the Chesescke an a box a chocolets.
Yu haf no idr ho gud I fel.

* * * * *

Ladies, if you are pregnant, and you know your baby will be a boy, consider naming him ’Gotham’! That way when he starts crying in the middle of the night, all you have to do is turn to your man and whisper, “Gotham needs you.” It won’t matter if it’s the first time or the hundredth he’s hearing it, he will get up and take care of business and you can roll over and get your well-deserved sleep!

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

As the sun rules the day and the moon governs the night, so too, we are connected by: the air that we breathe, light that we see and the darkness that follows. Life is too short to waste it on disagreements. Surely, we can all agree to disagree. So let us find a common ground, form a union and spread joy, happiness and freedom around the world for the benefit of you, me and the future generations to come. - Raymond Beresford Hamilton

To those who see with loving eyes, life is beautiful. To those who speak with tender voices, life is peaceful. To those who help with gentle hands, life is full. And to those who care with compassionate hearts, life is good beyond all measure. - Unknown

The most beautiful experience we can have is the most mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. - Albert Einstein

The world is so unpredictable. Things happen suddenly, unexpectedly. We want to feel we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we’re not. We are ruled by the forces of chance and coincidence. - Paul Auster